Ballyhoo Studios

Heritage of Kings
The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (also known unofficially as The Settlers V, original German title: Die Siedler - das Erbe der Könige) is the fifth instalment of The Settlers series of Real Time Strategy games on the PC. Heritage of Kings breaks off from the typical pattern that Settlers games have followed since they began: while the concept of the game remains, in essence, the same, a lot of the gameplay features have changed from those of The Settlers IV, and slightly resemble many of the gameplay aspects displayed in the game Cossacks: European Wars. Despite this, Heritage of Kings still maintains many of the characteristics of classic Settlers gameplay.

In a change from the gameplay of The Settlers IV, the player no longer has a choice in who they play as, the main story mode following the adventures of the king's son Dario and his companions, as they seek to defeat the evil Mordred and return peace to the land. Shortly after the game begins, Dario learns from his dying mother that he is the rightful heir to the throne of the land, upon which he sets out, accompanied by his childhood friend Erec, to locate his last living relative, his uncle Helias. Throughout their journey, Dario and friends face perilous dangers and must overcome difficult challenges, including making peace between the rival nations of Barmecia and Cleycourt, battling the ferocious barbarians of Folklung and Norfolk, and foiling the evil schemes of the countess Mary De Mortfichet in Kaloix, before eventually reaching the King's Castle, where Dario subdues Mordred's dark general, Kerberos.

The objective of the game remains the same as always: to create a thriving settlement, while amassing an army and defeating rival nations. There are now, however, an extraordinarily large amount of features that can be used in-game. Settlers fans will no doubt recall the scarcity of resources in the previous games; in Heritage of Kings, the introduction of Refineries for the various resources was a welcome addition, as it enabled players to construct more buildings in less time. Another welcome change was the addition of Upgrading Buildings: this enabled buildings to perform their specific job more efficiently, as well as providing room for more settlers to work there and, in some cases, providing new technology.